GoF The Way It Should Have Gone
by krepa
Summary: The TriWizard has arrived to Howgarts. What if Viktor wasn't the only champion showing an interest in Hermione?
1. Chapter 1

GoF The Way It Should Have Gone

Disclaimer: JK Rowlings and a bunch of other people own the Harry Potter universe and characters, I own nothing.

Author's notes: This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, it's a HR/Fleur story so you are warned, rating may later change. The story is pretty much cannon until 4th year, from there on it's AU. My motivation for writing this story is that I love the pairing and don't see enough stories as it is and that I love Hermione as a character and I love to read stories in which she is not a doormat to her _friends_ and she is showed as the complex and capable youg woman that she is, so I asked myself, why not create the story I would like to read myself? And this is it. I am pretty nervous about posting it and bear in mind that I am not an english born speaker, so I apologise for any errors beforehand.

Lastly any comments and reviews are appreciated, I only ask that whathever you have to say please don't be rude about it.

Chapter 1

It was a glorious winter Saturday and the sun was shinning all through Hogwarts grounds so all the students were outside playing in the snow and enjoying the rare opportunity to do so in the Scottish highlands.

So it was in a day such as this that Hermione Granger found herself alone in the library, normally she enjoyed the solitude but in this day she couldn't help herself but being a bit depressed.

'_Really, I know that they are best mates and are making up for lost time, but I thought, I don't know, I thought that after all that has happened this year that things would be different'._She knew that Harry considered Ron his best friend, almost like a brother, and that she was second to that ( something that had proved true in years past with Harry always choosing Ron's side in every argument she had had with the redhead ) but she thought that she and Harry had gotten closer this year after the goblet fiasco. All the school, including said redhead, had turned their backs on Harry, calling him a cheat and an attention seeker, but not Hermione, no, she had been with him every step of the way, encouraging him, providing an ear when he needed to vent and training him for the tasks, and she had deluded herself into thinking that Harry finally saw her as the good friend that she was, that he had started to appreciate her and consider her at least as good a friend as Ron. But here they were , the first task had come and gone, Ron had apologised and Harry had again the school support, and where did that leave her? Well, alone in the library researching for the second task while her two friends were somewhere in the grounds playing in the snow and enjoyed the good weather.

She understood that Harry was stressed and needed some time to relax and forget about the tournament, but didn't she deserve the same? It sometimes seemed that she was more invested in the competition than Harry was, and whenever she asked him about the egg Ron would tell her to stop nagging Harry, that there was a lot of time until the second task, and she realised, there was where her problem laid, Ron.

It had angered her that none of her two friends had asked her to the ball even when they got desperate, and please _OY, Hermione, Neville is right, __**you**__ are a girl! _Ron was such a git!, but what really had angered her was that the night of the ball, when she was enjoying herself with Viktor Krum, and feeling pretty and girly for the first time in her life, that Ron had to go and ruin it for her, although if she was honest with herself the thing that had hurt the most wasn't Ron and his insensitive remarks, no, what cut deeper was that once again Harry took Ron's side, not only did he not defend her when Ron was spewing all his bullshit, but later he found her crying and didn't console her ( as she would have done had their roles been reversed, hell, as she had been doing all year ) he left her there in the stairs crying, and all through the Christmas holidays he had been hanging out with Ron and the rest of the Weasleys ( the twins and Ginny ) while she researched in the library for the tasks.

Her musings were interrupted by the clearing of a throat " Hemionniny, vat are you doing in library on day like this? Come vith me to take a valk, yes?"

"Oh, hey Viktor, I'm doing some research for Harry, you know, for the tournament, so you see I am really busy…another day?" She really wanted to take Viktor up on his offer but this was one of the last days of the Christmas break and she knew that once the lessons started she was going to be more busy, so it was only logical to just stay put as much as she longed to be outdoors with Viktor taking a romantic stroll.

"Please Hermionniny, it's good veather, yes? Come vith me to how you say, to breath fresh air, research can wait, sun can't"

"I, yes, ok I'll go with you" Really, she would only be delaying her research a couple of hours, after lunch she would continue, and after all didn't she deserve a break too? And with that she picked up her notes and left the library arm in arm with Viktor never realising the pair of eyes that followed her every move, the same pair of eyes that had watched her since she arrived in the library and that now watched with a frown her arm encased in Viktor's arm.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: J K Rowling owns everything, I own nothing

A/N: This chapter is from Fleur's POV, I know it may seem a little slow but before I can let them get it on I wanted to show how both of them have arrived at this point, a kind of where they are emotionally speaking, and also show Fleur not as the cold bitch she may seem in cannon ( remember that in the book we see everything through a 14 year old boy POV ), but as a confused young girl probably falling in love for the first time and not knowing how to act.

Chapter 2

The day of the second task had arrived and Fleur awaited for the task to start next to Madam Maxine and the other two contestants as Harry Potter hadn't yet arrived, but Fleur was lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to her headmistress last minute instructions nor to the yells and excited chatter of the student body that was starting to fill the stands to watch the competition.

She was worriedly thinking about the clue she had heard when she managed to open the egg. _We will take that which you most cherish. _She had been thinking about it non stop since she heard the haunting song and she didn't like the conclusion she had arrived at, and her worry had hit the roof this morning when she couldn't find her little sister anywhere. _Gabrielle, she is the only thing that is making this year bearable_.

When Madam Maxine had come to the Delacour chateau this summer to speak about the next school year she couldn't have guessed what the headmistress was going to tell them. She explained that the Triwizard Tournament was going to take place again after almost a hundred year break at the request of the British government, she also told them that the International Council had accepted the request interpreting it as the British wanting to mend some fences. Wizarding Britain had isolated itself from the rest of the wizarding word in the last century, while the other European wizarding countries assimilated the non magical technology and entered the 20th century, the British held themselves apart believing that they were superior to the muggles as they called non magic users, and it had reached the point that when Voldemort was at his peak in the seventies they refused any external help offered. As a result the rest of Europe had watched with trepidation the rise of power of the mad man while strengthening their defences in the event of an attempt on his part to extent his domination outside of Britain.

When Harry Potter had defeated him as an infant attempts had been made at re-stabilising relations between the nations, but things were at best precarious, so when Albus Dumbledore had, as the head of the British delegation, made the request for the TriWizard Tournament to be held at Hogwarts, it had been seen as positive step towards international cooperation and the request had been approved.

Madam Maxine told them that as a result the 7th year students would spend their last year in England and Fleur being one of the best students was encouraged to participate in the tournament, she also told them that knowing that Fleur being a veela couldn't be separated from immediate family by long distance until she herself was bonded, she had arranged for Fleur's little sister who wasn't yet eleven years old to accompany Fleur at Hogwarts and join the first years lessons while providing Fleur with a family link and allowing her to live in England the whole school year.

And so it was that Fleur found herself in this situation, she had submitted her name to the goblet and had been chosen as the Beuxbaton champion, so she had to participate in the tournament, prepare for the NEWTS and live without the comforts she was used to at her school, _Really, candles instead of electricity, and no technology, how in the hell do muggle borns adapt to this life?I miss my i-pod and my computer, and for god sake, quills and parchment!!! Have this people not heard of ball point pens? It took me a week to learn how to take notes with a quill'._

But what she found the hardest was the stares she received every day, at Beuxbatons the first day of classes the students took a potion that helped dampen the effect her veela thrall had in others, the French school had a long tradition of veelas attending the institution, in fact her family had been Beuxbaton's alumni for a lot of generations, neither was she the only veela in attendance, so nobody bat an eyelash when before their first lesson they were asked to take the potion, but when Madame Maxine had suggested the potion to the Hogwarts headmaster the school nurse had refused to administer it saying she wasn't sure what effects it would have in the students who took it and Dumbledore had sided with her explaining that to use such a potion in underage students they would need the parents approval, what he hadn't said but was obvious was that some pureblood families (Malfoy anyone?) would never consent to their children taking a potion so some half-breed had an easier time, so Fleur had to live every day with the stares and the whispers. The reactions were split in two, either they stared at her drooling and with a glazed look in their eyes or with hate and disdain.

That was the curse of her blood, her mother had explained it to her when she hit puberty, she told her how from that moment and until she bonded with her mate she would get one out of two possible reactions from most people, those with an inclination towards women, whether be male or female would be drawn to her and those inclined towards men romantically, whether men or women also, would be hostile towards her feeling threatened by her, not everyone would be affected, for once only those close to her in age would feel it, and then were those who wouldn't be affected, they would be very few and those were the important ones in a veela's life, for those were the ones with whom she would want to mate. Contrary to popular belief, veelas didn't have a predestined mate, but they would find themselves searching for those who didn't fall under their thrall ( and if you think about it is only logical to want to be with someone who wants you for you and not because of an spell ), and once a veela fall for someone they fall hard, they would do their utmost to seduce their prospective mate and once they bonded that was it, for a veela mated for life.

So when her first night at Hogwarts she had wandered to another table to ask for their bouillabaisse and the brunette girl had locked eyes with her, alert eyes not clouded with lust or hostility but light with an inner fire and curiosity, she had been shocked and curious and had done something she normally didn't do, she had put more force behind her thrall to see the girl's reaction but the girl hadn't reacted one way or another, the same couldn't be said for the red head sitting next to her who had started drooling into his robes and whose ears seemed to have caught fire, and from that moment Fleur Delacour was hooked.

At first it had been pure curiosity, she wanted to make sure that what she had sensed was true, that the girl, _Hermione,_ she later learned her name was, wasn't affected by her thrall, so she started trailing her and trying to catch her attention with her thrall turned on full, but the only thing she got was to make the redheaded boy drool and trip over his feet and Hermione to get annoyed, so she switched tactics.

She decided to watch her from afar to learn everything she could about her, and learn she did, and all the things she discovered about Hermione made her want more, to know more, to see more, to hear more and to touch, `_Oh, God to touch her, to feel that soft skin, to run my fingers through those wild tresses', _more ( or anything at all in this case)_._

But she also learned things she didn't like, how the redhead treated her, how her other friend took her for granted, how that make her angel ( yes, she had started thinking of Hermione as her angel, `_How the mighty have fallen'_) feel so sad, and worst of all, she learned how the Durmstrang champion, that Bulgarian oaf, realised the same thing as her, the incredibly woman in the making that Hermione was, and had to see how he clumsily courted her ( stalked her, really ), how he asked her to the ball and how Hermione accepted.

And her angel had been glorious at the ball, letting everybody catch a glimpse of the beautiful woman she was becoming, during dinner sitting at the champion table she had become so nervous about sitting next to Hermione that she had made a fool of herself (and her date for the ball didn't help matters, that Davies boy was so far gone into her thrall it wasn't even funny ), and afterwards she had had to watch that only good for quidditch git dancing close to her angel, making her laugh and radiate happiness while she had to spend the whole dance evading the paws of her date ( until she hit him with a hex after he groped her ass one time too many ). After that she lost sight of her angel and didn't see her for the rest of the night, and she spent the rest of the ball sitting in a corner brooding and thinking about the git (the Bulgarian one) kissing Hermione and who knows what else and Hermione liking it. She later learned through student gossip that the git (the redhead one) had said some stupid things and made Hermione cry, so no romantic tryst with Krum, she didn't know whether to be grateful or pissed at the Weasley boy.

The rest of the holidays after the ball were spent in the same fashion, with Fleur observing (yes, observing, she didn't stalk, only stupid Drumstang champions stalked) Hermione and her boy_ughh_friend and she knew that something had to give, she had to get close to Hermione, become her friend _that's an idea_ , and somehow convince her that Krum was no good news, that she would be much better off with a female veela, namely her, _yeah, piece of cake,…..I'm so screwed!._

She was so deep in thought that she didn't see Harry Potter arriving in the last minute, didn't hear Ludo Bagman explaining the task or even noticed the other champions jumping into the freezing lake, only when her headmistress gave her a shove that almost dislocated her shoulder did she come back to the present.

" Ok, Fleur, no time to daydream, you can do that later, now get on with it!" se murmured to herself, and with that she too jumped into the water.

The second task had started.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimers: J K Rowling owns everything, I own nothing.

A/N: Thanks to all of you who have reviewed, especial thanks to **Silver Ice Bullet** , you were my first review ever.

**Ms Geek, **no, she isn't but this was the best next thing.

And to the rest of you, read and enjoy(I hope).

Chapter 3

A disoriented felling and shocking cold was the first thing Hermione noticed when she regained consciousness, the last she remembered was entering the headmaster's office with Ron and seeing her head of house, Cho Chang, the pretty ravenclaw Harry had a crush on, and the French headmistress talking to a small blonde, and then blackness.

She realised she was in the water and tried not to panic, she started to tread water to stay afloat but found her wet clothes very heavy and restraining, she looked around and saw, _Wait a minute, is that a shark!?, _Viktor Krum transfiguring back she guessed.

" Hermioninny, swim, ve must reach the shore!" Only then she realised she was in the lake, about 50 meters from where three big platforms had been erected to allow the public to watch the task.

Hermione and Viktor reached the platform an were helped up by Cedric and Cho who were wrapped in thick blankets, and then Madam Pomfrey descended upon them with blankets murmuring something about stupid tournaments that put students in danger.

" All right there, Granger?" It was Diggory who knelt next to her with a worried expression on his handsome face.

"Oh, yes, Cedric, thanks, listen, were we the last ones to arrive? Where is Harry, is he okay?" Hermione couldn't help herself, her mind was going full speed, she didn't have all the facts and was starting to panic.

" Whoa, calm down, look, Cho and I were the first ones although we had already passed the one hour time limit, then there was some problem and actually Fleur had to be rescued and her sister is still down there, and no, Harry has yet to appear"

Looking around, Hermione saw the French champion being consoled by her headmistress, whatever Madam Maxime was saying didn't seem to be helping because Fleur was getting extremely upset and seemed ready to either jump into the water or to knock her professor out ( and then jump into the water ), and the only thing stopping her was that as far as Hermione could see, she wasn't in any shape to do so, for she was bleeding from numerous scratches in legs and arms and her right arm seemed to be broken, `_Madam Pomfrey really seems to enjoy these crises, look at her, she never is as happy as when she is dealing with some injury, and what the hell happened down there to Fleur?'_

"Fleur, calme-toi!"

"Ne me dites pas que je me suis calmé, ma petite soeur est dans un danger!"

Just as Hermione was wondering what the two Frenchwomen were saying someone in the public shouted out "Is that Harry Potter? Look I see movement in the water!"

And sure enough something was happening, suddenly a head appeared some good distance from where all of them were waiting, it was Ron! Thank Merlin! but where was Harry?

All where waiting for a black head to appear also but when some seconds later nothing happened and Ron also disappeared under the water, Hermione didn't wait anymore, she took off her shoes and robe and jumped into the lake, she only knew that something had gone wrong and her friends were in danger. From the corner of her eye she saw Diggory and Krum also jumping to the rescue.

By the time she arrived to where she had last seen Ron both Viktor and Cedric had already arrived, Hermione was a very good swimmer but the other two were quiddich players and were in good shape, so they were much faster than her. She could see that Cedric had found Ron and was trying to keep afloat with his cargo, which was difficult because Ron was unconscious.

"Hermione! Help Krum find Harry and I will take Ron to the platform!" said Cedric, who sounded exhausted.

"Don't you need help carrying him?" Answered Hermione, she didn't know if Cedric would be able to make all the way back carrying another person.

"I'll be fine! Don't waste time!" and with that he started swimming back trying all the while to keep Ron's head above the water.

Hermione took a deep breath and went underwater.

Black, it's all she could see around her, '_Well, now I know why they call it the Black Lake'_ , she went to the surface again and casted the bubble-head charm on herself as well as a lumos on her wand, and went down again.

Now that she could see a little more she started descending into the lake when she saw Viktor ascending and best of all he had found Harry!

When Viktor was next to her he signalled up and continued in his ascent, they didn't know how long Harry had been without oxygen and they had to get him help and fast, but just as she was going to follow them she thought she saw something bright in the distance. '_What is that?_ She swam towards it and when she was approaching it she saw some slimy creatures grabbing what looked like a little blonde girl. '_Is that Fleur sister?'_ Just then something grabbed her too and started dragging her towards the bottom of the lake, at least three grindylows held her by the legs, and a bit further ahead other three had the little girl.

Hermione was trying to shake loose but the creatures only held on harder cutting into her skin with their fingers. She was getting desperate, she didn't know if Fleur's sister was still under the spell they had been put under, kind of an stasis spell, or if she was drowning, and the grindylows were carrying them deeper and deeper, so she started fighting back and snapped the fingers of two of the creatures, they started shrieking but they let go, that only let another one holding onto her so she casted a _Relashio_ spell at the third grindylow and once free she swam as fast as she could towards the French girl. When she reached her, Hermione used the same spell again, and when the grindylows let loose, she grabbed the girl and without looking back started swimming towards the surface.

When she was breathing again, Hermione cancelled the bubble-head charm and checked on the girl, she hadn't regained consciousness so she swam as fast as she could towards the platform, Hermione knew that time was of the essence, and she could feel her strength leaving her, she was very near her goal, but she didn't know if she could make it, she could hear shouts in the distance, but was very tired and didn't understand what they were saying, and then she heard splashing noises and felt hands grabbing her, she tried resisting thinking that they were trying to carry her underwater again.

"Hermione! It's ok, we've got you!" Cedric was trying to take the little girl from her, but she wasn't letting go.

"Mione, calm down, we're trying to help" another voice was shouting, Hermione looked up and saw Percy who looked like a drowned rat and was trying to get her in the platform.

"Hermioninny, it's all right, you're safe" Viktor sounded concerned and exhausted as he helped her onto the platform.

"Everybody step back and let me do my job!" it was Madam Pomfrey who kneeled next to her, "How are you feeling dear? Here, let me see" she started waiving her wand all over Hermione. "You are ok, some scratches only, but you're coming to the infirmary with the others just in case".

"Madam Pomfrey, please, and the others, are they ok? Harry, Ron? And the girl?"

"Don't worry dear, you are all going to be fine, come now, lie on the stretcher and try to relax".

Hermione wanted to protest and say that she was fine, that she could walk but when she opened her mouth to do so Madam Pomfrey emptied a vial down her throat and she knew no more.

And so ended the second task.


End file.
